I seem to have bad experience with finding tradesmen and in particular electricians. I've literally had more than 10 come to my house to give me a quote for some remedial work.
Some didn't turn up and never called to cancel, many turned up late and never called and still some turned up smelling of alcohol. Turning up to someone's house with the possibility of being given work is a bit like attending an interview. I would never get a job if I turned up late or worse, intoxicated.
Those who turned up contradicted each other regarding exactly what work needed to be done. e.g: all metal surfaces must be earthed says one. No need for that since there is an RCD, says another. Can't put a JB under the floorboard, so this job is tricky (read impossible) to do, says another. After a bit of research, even I know there are MF JB he could have used and I'm no electrician.
Finally, I picked an electrician who turned up on time for a quote, appeared friendly, professional and knowledgeable.
He was supposed to start at 9 on Sat. At 10 he was still not there. I called him repeatedly, no answer. By noon, no sign of life. I had already given up on him and was trying to find another one. Then he turned up with bloodshot eyes, reeking of alcohol. But he appeared coherent. Since I was so desperate for an electrician, I went ahead with him and didn't even mention the alcohol on his breath. But he worked hard and well.
Much much later I found out he had terminated the duct of an extraction fan in the loft just in front of the eaves. My loft was dripping wet that winter and I couldn't understand why until I found this out. When I called him to let him know how he did it, he still insisted that was the correct way of doing it.
Now I had to find yet again another electrician to drill a hole in the soffit and terminate the duct properly. First electrician agreed to come a Saturday morning to do this 1 hr job. Never turned up. At 9 pm I got a call asking if he could come the next day to do it, no explanation given for not turning up as agreed.
Found another electrician, NICIE (or whatever it is) registered, he did the job in the end, even inviting me to inspect. After he left, I went back for a second lengthier inspection and found out the duct was loose and came out easily. It wasn't a big job to put it back in and tighten it but still, job not done properly. I thought I would keep him as my electrician as he had turned up on time and done the job.
Later, I needed to know how much adding a few sockets around the house would cost so invited him for a quote. We agreed a time for him to come. He never turned up, never called me.
So now I'm trying to do as much work around the house as I can. I like DIY so I'm happy to do it and it saves me money. I can also do a lot of work much better than them because I care about my house. Once an electrician fixed a piece of trunking at an angle when it was supposed to be vertical. It looked awful. Fortunately, I was renting that place.
But most of the things I am doing are new to me and I am spending a long time researching and learning how to do them. Thank God for the internet.
What is wrong with these people? Do they have too much work that they can't be bothered to turn up? Are they all like this out there? So far according to my experience, they are. Maybe the good ones are busy answering posts on this forum?
Apologies if this is too long but there was lots to say.
Some didn't turn up and never called to cancel, many turned up late and never called and still some turned up smelling of alcohol. Turning up to someone's house with the possibility of being given work is a bit like attending an interview. I would never get a job if I turned up late or worse, intoxicated.
Those who turned up contradicted each other regarding exactly what work needed to be done. e.g: all metal surfaces must be earthed says one. No need for that since there is an RCD, says another. Can't put a JB under the floorboard, so this job is tricky (read impossible) to do, says another. After a bit of research, even I know there are MF JB he could have used and I'm no electrician.
Finally, I picked an electrician who turned up on time for a quote, appeared friendly, professional and knowledgeable.
He was supposed to start at 9 on Sat. At 10 he was still not there. I called him repeatedly, no answer. By noon, no sign of life. I had already given up on him and was trying to find another one. Then he turned up with bloodshot eyes, reeking of alcohol. But he appeared coherent. Since I was so desperate for an electrician, I went ahead with him and didn't even mention the alcohol on his breath. But he worked hard and well.
Much much later I found out he had terminated the duct of an extraction fan in the loft just in front of the eaves. My loft was dripping wet that winter and I couldn't understand why until I found this out. When I called him to let him know how he did it, he still insisted that was the correct way of doing it.
Now I had to find yet again another electrician to drill a hole in the soffit and terminate the duct properly. First electrician agreed to come a Saturday morning to do this 1 hr job. Never turned up. At 9 pm I got a call asking if he could come the next day to do it, no explanation given for not turning up as agreed.
Found another electrician, NICIE (or whatever it is) registered, he did the job in the end, even inviting me to inspect. After he left, I went back for a second lengthier inspection and found out the duct was loose and came out easily. It wasn't a big job to put it back in and tighten it but still, job not done properly. I thought I would keep him as my electrician as he had turned up on time and done the job.
Later, I needed to know how much adding a few sockets around the house would cost so invited him for a quote. We agreed a time for him to come. He never turned up, never called me.
So now I'm trying to do as much work around the house as I can. I like DIY so I'm happy to do it and it saves me money. I can also do a lot of work much better than them because I care about my house. Once an electrician fixed a piece of trunking at an angle when it was supposed to be vertical. It looked awful. Fortunately, I was renting that place.
But most of the things I am doing are new to me and I am spending a long time researching and learning how to do them. Thank God for the internet.
What is wrong with these people? Do they have too much work that they can't be bothered to turn up? Are they all like this out there? So far according to my experience, they are. Maybe the good ones are busy answering posts on this forum?
Apologies if this is too long but there was lots to say.
